Lunar Eclipse Tomorrow Morning

On December 10, 2011 there will be a total lunar eclipse, visible from 5:45 am Mountain Standard Time until 7:32 am Mountain Standard Time.  According to Christian Science Monitor, the best places to view the eclipse in its totality are from Hawaii to Asia.  Those on the east coasts will not see much, while the west coast, without blocked views of the horizon, will have the best views.

"These eclipses occur when the Earth blocks direct sunlight from reaching the moon. But at totality, the moon still gives off a red glow, thanks to sunlight that passes through Earth's atmosphere.

The moon's ruddy hue during a lunar eclipse owes its color to the way light scatters in the atmosphere.

Coming from the far side of Earth, as an astronaut on the moon might see it, the sunlight must travel a relatively long distance through the atmosphere before it exits and heads moonward.

During the course of its travels, the light loses its other colors – think the color spectrum, here – to atmospheric molecules and dust. These scatter the shorter wavelengths of light. The more dust, the darker the red left to daub the moon's surface.

The color is created by the same effect that causes the deep reds late in a sunset or early in a sunrise."  (http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2011/1209/Lunar-eclipse-Why-will-this-one-be-so-big-and-red)

Other sites:

http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar-eclipse-december-10-2011.html

http://news.brevardtimes.com/2011/12/nasa-video-explains-2011-lunar-eclipse.html

The Moon Eclipsed and I Slept Through It!

http://shadowandsubstance.com/

Last night/early this morning was the last full lunar eclipse the North Americas will see for another four years and I slept through it!  According to the graphic above, courtesy of Shadow and Substance site (see link above) the eclipse began at 11:33 pm and continued to phase through until emerging again at 3:01 am today.  Incidentally, it is uncommon that this happen on the date of winter solstice.  This lunar eclipse falls on the date of the northern winter solstice. 

 "Geoff Chester of the US Naval Observatory inspected a list of eclipses going back 2000 years. 'Since Year 1, I can only find one previous instance of an eclipse matching the same calendar date as the solstice, and that is 1638 DEC 21,' says Chester. 'Fortunately we won't have to wait 372 years for the next one...that will be on 2094 DEC 21.'"  (quote from NASA site) Unfortunately, most of us will not be here to see that one.

For more images of the eclipse see NASA's site http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/17dec_solsticeeclipse/

Today is the first day of winter, with the winter solstice beginning at 4:38 pm MST.  Winter Solstice is the exact point in time that the earth's axial tilt is at the furthest point away from the sun.  It is the day with the shortest period of daylight hours.  From here the period of daylight lengthens.  (yay!) And the approach to summer begins!  (do I hear gardeners cheering?)

Happy Winter everyone!!

Lunar Eclipse Tonight

The moon appears totally covered by shadow as the earth passes between the moon and the sun, during the lunar eclipse in this Jan. 9, 2001 file photo taken in Kiel, Germany.
HERIBERT PROEPPER/AP FILE PHOTO

Tonight and early tomorrow morning we have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the last lunar eclipse of 2010!!  Beginning at about 11:30 pm, it is best seen with the naked eye or binoculars.  See the following post which contains a link for more information about this event.